


Relationship Advice with Tony Stark

by jelly_pies



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Break Up, F/M, Gen, Getting Back Together, Getting Together, Minor Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Not Spider-Man: Far From Home Compliant, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), sort of outsider POV with Tony for Spideychelle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:21:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28007646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jelly_pies/pseuds/jelly_pies
Summary: "It’s happened before, right?" Tony says. "Dates ruined, like Paris. Michelle getting it through your skull that she likes you anyway.""It’s not about that." Peter drops dramatically on a chair. "It’s about Spider-Man. And me, putting that above her."-Tony tries to be a supportive mentor through the ups and downs of Peter and MJ's relationship.
Relationships: Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 27
Kudos: 100
Collections: Irondad Fic Exchange 2020





	Relationship Advice with Tony Stark

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tiredaroaceperson](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiredaroaceperson/gifts).



> Written for the prompt "Peter asking Tony for advice on how to ask MJ out," tweaked a liiiittle bit. With parental Tony, a dash of angst, and of course found family as requested! I hope you enjoy! ❤️

It starts with a phone call in the middle of the night.

Tony would have left it alone—he just had a full day of dadding, play-galas with plushie Avengers, and runaway-alpaca-chasing, _give him a break,_ he groans, burying his head in the pillows against the incessant ringing.

But then Tony registers two facts. One: his phone is _ringing_ —the phone he has set on vibrate all the time (he knows how, he’s not that old, thank you very much)—so FRIDAY must deem the caller important enough. And two, as Tony scrambles for the device with his good arm and squints against the light: the caller ID reads ‘Onesie.’

Tony picks up immediately.

"Kid?" Tony pauses, because late night calls could mean all manner of bad news with Peter Parker on the other end of the line. But instead of heavy breathing, or a distress call from Karen, Tony receives—

 _"Ohmygodohmygod_ hey you’re up!" Peter rambles right off the bat. "Okay. You remember yesterday at lunch? When I sat next to MJ? And I told her I liked her Leia shirt, except then I started yammering like an idiot! Well today, you will _not_ believe—"

Tony reels back as if the sudden barrage had physically shoved him in the ear. "K-kid?" he can only repeat dumbly.

"I was at her apartment after school, right?" Peter continues in a rush. "I mean, of course you know I was at her apartment, you were there too for decathlon practice, but then you went home, and everyone else went home, and I was getting nervous about being alone with MJ, but! But then she—wow, she’s amazing—MJ, she said—"

"I was never at your friend’s apartment! Peter, what are you talking about?" Tony finally interjects.

A full five seconds of silence.

Then, "This… this isn’t Ned, is it?" comes in Peter’s small voice.

Tony holds in a bark of laughter for the poor kid’s sake. "No?"

Another pause, in which Tony imagines Peter holding the phone away from his ear, checking the contact on the screen. _"Shit—"_

And the line cuts off.

* * *

_"You ok?"_ Tony shoots Peter a quick text in the morning.

 _"Please,"_ the teenager replies almost instantly. " _Please Mr. Stark, don’t ever, ever mention last night, ever. I’m so sorry about that."_ Then a peace emoji.

Wow, this was serious.

 _"No problem,"_ Tony sends the text quickly. But he just can’t help himself. _"So you like Michelle, huh?"_ he adds two seconds later.

Peter barely talks to him for a month.

* * *

"Underoos, you’re taking her to the _Eiffel Tower,_ there’s nothing more romantic than that." Tony and Peter work side by side in the lake house garage as they chat. The silent treatment hadn’t held for long after all, and today the teenager had come to Tony with his plans concerning confessing to a certain special someone.

To Tony’s credit, he keeps the teasing to a minimum.

"May said that too, that my plan was fine," Peter replies thoughtfully. "But I mean, you never know with MJ."

"Sounds like the perfect opportunity. A European trip with your decathlon team doesn’t come along every year."

"You’ve been to Paris, right? For, uh, romantic stuff?"

"Several times." Several times with several girls, and a handful of guys, if Tony’s being honest. "Wow, those were some wild times," he mumbles, still stuck in his own thoughts.

"Oh my god, stop! I don’t need details!" Peter shoves him playfully.

"Ow! Give an old reformed playboy a break! I’ve been there with Pepper, too, thank you very much. All I’m saying is go for it, Casanova."

Peter makes a sound between a chuckle and a sigh. "So that’s a yes from you. Now I only have to ask Ned..."

"Don’t just take my word for it, though," Tony quickly adds. A part of him feels a pang of guilt—offering relationship advice, with _his_ scandal-riddled romantic history? The poor kid deserves better. "I’m sure May is way better at this stuff than me."

"Oh, of course she is." Peter shrugs offhandedly. "But, I mean… you’re a _guy…"_ Tony raises an eyebrow— _what difference does that make?_ —when Peter adds, "... and I don’t really have a lot of, you know. Other, older guys. To ask about this kind of stuff."

And Tony pauses.

Superhero mentorship was one thing. And over the years, this growing, semi-familial bond he and Peter shared—Tony had become used to that, too. But this talk? Peter telling him the whole story about the girl he liked? Tony hadn’t fully realized what the gesture meant to the kid—until now.

This was about way more than just soliciting relationship advice, wasn’t it?

Tony is aware he’s switching to his dad voice, the one he uses around Morgan, when he promises Peter, "You can always come to me."

* * *

It turned out the European trip didn’t exactly go according to plan. One Venetian battle, a couple of fiascos with trains, and one botched identity reveal later, Peter is sitting safely at home with a concerned May and Tony flanking him on the couch.

And one long conversation later, Peter is sitting with a slightly reassured May and Tony… still flanking him on the couch.

Tony is proud, of course—the kid had taken care of Quentin Beck almost all by himself, and now seems _tired_ of the topic even being brought up. So Tony steers the conversation to another unfortunate incident in Peter’s misadventure.

"So you and Michelle never got to go to Paris," Tony concludes, making an exaggerated sad face.

Peter doesn’t seem disappointed, though. On the contrary, his eyes are _twinkling._ "We didn’t," he admits, "but, uh, actually. Speaking of MJ…"

And that’s how Tony finds out his young protégé has got himself a girlfriend.

* * *

What had started with a wrong number call in the middle of the night, soon turns into several intentional Relationship Talks with Tony Stark™.

Which mostly consists of Tony listening and nodding along, because honestly, Peter’s already got the whole relationship thing mostly figured out. Kudos to him and May’s upbringing. But if the teenager wants to talk to Tony about it too, his door is always open.

"... so I ended up having to swing with her after all, even though she said she's never doing that again," Peter tells him one night at the lake house as they set the table for dinner. "But, I mean, Scorpion going on a rampage, wasn't really my fault, right?"

"Mhm."

"But now our big date's ruined, and I tell her, MJ, I'm gonna make it up to you. And she says like, yeah, dork, you better, but she says it with a smile, so I know I'm okay."

"Yeah."

"Except she's already off to college, Mr. Stark, and it's been so hectic recently with Spider-Manning—"

"Did you seriously say _Spider-Manning."_

"—and I never did make good on my promise. She said it's okay, but then she left in a rush and now, I don't know what to do."

"What did May say?"

"To keep in touch, but also give her space." Peter grimaces. "This long distance thing's gonna be tough."

"And what did Ned say?"

"That I'm an idiot."

Tony snickers. Peter whips a napkin on his arm.

"It’s happened before, right?" Tony says, serious this time. "Plans ruined, like Paris. Michelle getting it through your skull that she likes you anyway."

"It’s not _about_ that." Peter drops dramatically on a chair. "It’s about Spider-Man. And me, putting that above her."

"Are those her words?"

"My anxiety and guilt's."

"Kid." Tony crosses his arms. "I’ve only met Michelle three times, but even I can tell she’s the kind to speak up when something’s seriously becoming a problem."

"I just. I don’t wanna lose her."

Just then Tony glimpses Pepper passing by the hallway. His eyes soften. "I know you don’t."

After a thoughtful pause, Peter throws down the napkin he’d been strangling to death between his fingers. "I’m gonna go see MJ," he decides. "This weekend. I'll ask Ned's mom to borrow her car, we'll go on a road trip. I’ll surprise her and it’ll be cheesy, dammit, but she doesn’t mind cheesy every now and then. I’ll make all those missed dates up to her."

"Attaboy," Tony grins at his mentee’s decisiveness. "Need anything from me?"

"Tips?"

Tony cocks his head. Genuinely, he has nothing more to add, so he takes the sarcastic route. "Stretch your legs every once in a while, don’t forget to use your blinkers. And don’t screw up."

Tony's shoulder receives another assault from the abused napkin.

Peter spends the rest of his evening with the Stark family in a decidedly lighter mood. Maybe Tony can do this whole listening-and-advice thing after all.

* * *

Tony forgot whose bright idea it was to place a TV in the Compound medbay waiting room. Something about distractions, white noise. The idea _might_ have worked, if the TV weren’t currently set at the news channel—replaying Spider-Man's latest brutal beating from a guy dressed like a rhino.

Tony smashes the off button, old school style, because if he merely told FRIDAY to shut it off he wouldn't trust his voice not to break. The fact that Spider-Man ultimately won that fight isn't as reassuring as it should have been.

Peter’s been stuck in the infirmary for days. There's a tube in the kid's mouth, many others snaking his unconscious body. May sits beside her nephew every second the doctors allow her to. She says he once squeezed her hand.

"Awake?" Morgan texts Tony for the fifth time that afternoon.

"Not yet. May’s with him. He’ll be alright, Mo," Tony types back, just as antsy as his school-aged daughter.

"Tell him no dying until he beats my Pacman high score."

Tony smiles. "No dying, ever."

Bent over his phone, Tony doesn’t notice the newcomer until she’s standing right next to him.

"Mr—I mean, Tony? I brought these." Michelle holds a bouquet of sunflowers, four red and blue balloons printed _‘get,’ ‘well,’ ‘soon,’_ and _‘dork,’_ and a brown bag of what smells like those sandwiches at Delmar’s that Peter likes. "I came as soon as I could."

Tony tries not to squish the flowers as they hug.

Sitting with Michelle in that restless waiting room, Tony is suddenly aware they’d never spent time together on their own before. They pass the time talking about university, political science, life, Peter.

"If only Spider-Man had taken a college break, accepted MIT." Tony sighs. "This wouldn’t have happened."

"Well… he’s Spider-Man,” Michelle states simply. “Look at you, though. Tony Stark worrying on the sidelines, who would’ve thought."

"Yeah, I’m not quite used to it."

"And then there’s me… who _has_ to get used to it." Michelle’s grip nearly tears the paper bag. Tony wonders how many times she’s done this. Tuning in to the Daily Bugle’s videos, miles away from home. Fearing something out of her control.

Tony recognizes both the anxiety and the resiliency in her eyes.

When May comes out hours later, smiling through tears, Tony squeezes Michelle’s shoulder and points her to Peter’s doorway. "You first."

* * *

As time progresses, so does the young lovers’ relationship. It’s not an infrequent topic of Tony and May’s coffee chats. "Pair of gossiping grandmothers, you two," Pepper tsks at them—before caving and joining in the talk herself. His wife likes MJ almost as much as May does, and Tony can't blame her.

An explosive battle atop Oscorp Industries, though, ends their cheery conversations.

* * *

"How’s MJ?" Tony has to shout over the din of the workshop. Peter’s web synthesizer is running at full power, and the young man is staring intensely in a way that pushes Tony to attempt some lighthearted small talk. "Haven’t heard from her in a while."

Peter doesn’t answer, just pokes at some web formula settings on the holo-screens. The Goblin incident had changed the kid in more ways than one.

"Everything good with her master studies?" Tony pushes.

"She's good," Peter finally replies. "But… we’re taking a break."

"What?" Tony shuts the machine down even though he’d heard Peter clearly the first time. "What was that?"

Peter sighs, leaning his hands against the desk. "It’s nobody’s fault," he mumbles after a long pause.

Tony doesn’t want to push too hard; that never goes well. But something about Peter’s demeanor these past months, his shifting eyes, minced words—down to the exact damn wording of _taking a break, nobody’s fault_ —is way too familiar for comfort. "Everything okay?"

"It’s just—it’s _us._ Me and MJ, we’ve always worked through this," Peter spits out, like he’s talking to himself instead of Tony. And just as suddenly, he grows quiet again.

"Is this about Osborn?"

Peter turns the synthesizer back on. "I don’t want to talk about it."

And, for now, they don’t.

* * *

It had been a long time since they’d all gathered at the lake house. May brings the cake; Pepper arranges Happy and Rhodey’s numerous gifts on the table; Morgan insists on putting up her own thirteenth-birthday banner. On the mantelpiece sits Michelle's present with a note regretting how she couldn't come herself. Peter tries to join in the festive spirit, but everyone knows what's weighing on his mind.

Tony pulls Peter away for a talk after dinner. And finally, in the privacy and familiarity of Tony's workshop, Peter breaks down.

Pouring his story out to his mentor, Peter ends with a broken sob that sounds like it's been stifled for far too long. "I don't wanna lose her. I don't, Tony. But MJ almost _died—_ I almost died—I mean, we've done that before, but…"

"I know," Tony says softly, nodding.

"... this time, it was—you know we've both been working through a lot of shit lately, in each of our own lives. And with Harry, everything just… met in the middle. And crashed."

Tony pats the younger man's shaking back, still a little awkward at showing affection even after all these years. After a while, Peter lays a hand on top of Tony's on his shoulder.

Maybe not that awkward, after all.

"Michelle's at her parents', right?" Tony asks after an eternity of silence.

"Said she had to work out some stuff on her own." Peter brings his head up, wiping his eyes furiously on his sleeves. "And, I mean, I do, too."

"If a break’s what you needed for that, I think that's good, Pete."

"If you and Pepper had ever broken up, do you think it would have resolved itself, or…"

"We _did_ break up. Once."

Peter's eyes snap up, too surprised to realize his mouth is caught open. "You?"

"Yes, us," Tony continues slowly, "some time before Germany. And it didn't magically work out either. It took—God, it took months."

Peter picks at a loose string on his shirt hem, lost in thought. "Any advice?"

Tony gives a small smile. It’s not the first time Peter has come to him with these relationship questions. It’s also not the first time Tony realizes, sometimes his best way of helping Peter is simply to offer the listening ear Tony wished he had been given at that age.

"No," he says, "I don’t. From what you’ve told me, kid… I think you’ve got this figured out. You’re way smarter than you give yourself credit for. Always have been. Even at relationships, emotions, juggling that with hero work—trust me, it’s the hardest part. And over the years, have I ever really given you any useful relationship-type help that you didn’t already know?"

Peter hums. "Getting that five-foot Eiffel Tower replica."

"I said _useful_ help, Parker."

"Ridiculously expensive, by the way." Peter cracks a smile. "But I told MJ you owed me for the lake incident, and after that she did admit she liked it."

"Of course she did. You’re both nerds."

Peter’s short laugh sounds like he’s stifled it for far too long, too. "God, I miss her," Peter exhales. "Everything that’s happened, it’s a handful."

"You need time. And you need to work this out between yourselves." Tony looks his kid in the eyes. "Spider-Man's not an easy life, Pete. But you and Michelle, you’re both stronger than you give yourselves credit for. No matter how this ends."

* * *

It’s months later when Tony swings by May’s apartment, dropping off some package (cooking books, he thinks) that Pepper had borrowed. Not a terrible life, semi-retirement. Tony knocks on the door—but it isn’t May who answers.

"Tony!" Michelle startles. "I thought it was… someone else…"

Tony blinks at her, not quite sure what to say, either. "I’m just returning some stuff." He holds out the bag. "It’s good to see you again."

Michelle leads him inside with an apologetic smile. "Sorry I couldn’t come to Morgan’s birthday."

"We missed you." As Tony sets the bag down he notices two coffee mugs on the table. Neither of them is the handpainted ‘B+M’ mug he knows is May’s favorite.

"I was just in town today, incidentally," Michelle says.

"And Peter’s shift at the Bugle ends around this time," Tony thinks out loud. "Coincidentally."

MJ shrugs in her offhanded way. One of the things she shares with Peter—neither of them are very good liars.

Tony excuses himself before things get too awkward. He notices a couple of important things as he leaves, though: one, a note on May’s calendar, showing she was on an emergency shift this whole afternoon.

And two, Peter Parker entering the apartment building seconds after Tony leaves it—a bouquet of sunflowers in his hand.

* * *

It’s never easy to love someone facing danger day by day. In that medbay waiting room long ago, Tony had seen the same fear in Michelle’s eyes that he knew in Pepper’s, in Rhodey’s, in May’s.

But he was right: the same mettle lay behind them, too. One of the things she shares with Peter.

From what Tony gathers, Peter and Michelle had gotten back together a couple of weeks after his apartment visit. Peter barges through Tony's door three days later.

"I need advice!" he hollers right off the bat. "How do I ask my long-term girlfriend out on a date?"

Tony can only blink at the out-of-breath young adult. "To be fair, that's not the weirdest question you've come here with."

"I love her," Peter blurts out, younger than he's seemed in years, but with eyes shining brighter than they ever did in his puppy-love days with Michelle Jones. "I love her and I'm done not telling her. We've had our big talk, we've made our promises, we've worked through our own issues and now, we'll work through all the rest together. God, Tony, I love her! She’s one of the strongest people I know. And I want to have a special evening, no Spider-Man, just Peter Parker and the woman he _loves!"_

Tony can't help a grin at the way Peter beams at that last word. "Reunion after a long break? You've come to the right place for advice, kid."

"I know I did." Peter tackles Tony in a hug in his excitement—and then turns on his heel, running to the garden. "Thanks, man!" he calls over his shoulder. "Pepper, are you here? I need your advice!"

He leaves Tony stuttering, pride and amusement racing across his face. “I’m too old for this,” Tony chuckles.

* * *

It started with a mistaken phone call in the middle of the night. It continues with odd messages at all hours of the day. Tony's relationship advice isn't as needed anymore as the years go by; but as he had promised Peter long ago, Tony is there whenever he needs him. Sometimes all the kid really needs is a listening ear.

Tony is more than happy to provide it, and then some, for his favorite young couple.

*

 _"Shopping for rings tomorrow,"_ Peter texts. _"Don't tell MJ. Advice?"_

_"Are you sure you don't want to ask Pepper?"_

_"You're still not over that, are you? Lol_ _  
__I was messing with you!_ _  
__Mostly_  
 _You give good advice too, Tony"_

*

 _"SHE SAID YES!"_ Peter reports.

_"To what?"_

_"Tony..."_

_"Happy for you both, kid. You’re perfect for each other, I mean that."_

_"Thank you, sir. I mean that."_

Tony spends the rest of the night barraging his, Pepper’s, and May's group chat with celebratory emojis, like the embarrassing proud dad he's thankful he got the chance to become.

*

MJ sends him a picture of their Eiffel Tower statue stringed with lights, standing proudly in their new apartment in place of a Christmas tree.

It's one of Tony's favorite memories to associate with Paris.

*

 _"Lmao did Pepper really call you and May a pair of gossiping grandmas?"_ Peter messages from out of nowhere.

 _"Slander,"_ Tony replies. _"Check your sources, Parker."_ Tony doesn't give the exchange much thought until later in the day, when Peter sends a photo of him and MJ, grinning, with a positive pregnancy test in their hands.

Peter captions it _"Hey, Grandma."_


End file.
